Ties that bind
by The 483
Summary: After the defeat of Dusk Taker, things seemed to have settled. But when Snow Black gets attacked in the Accelerated World by an unknown Burst Linker, she gets the opportunity to learn more about the struggles that go on in the Accelerated World. Based only on the Anime. Might just be a bunch of random, unconnected stories, not sure yet.
1. Chapter 1

**Accel World: Ties that bind**

**Disclaimer: I do Not own Accel World**

_**This work is based solely upon the Anime show, as it is the sole source of Knowledge on the subject. This begins at some point within a few days of the end of the second series Finale, with the defeat of Dusk Taker.**_

_**Also note: I watched the entire series with the subtitles, and the Japanese names and titles and honorifics are beyond the scope of my understanding (I freely admit I am not so bright) so I will Likely use only the shorthand names.**_

**Chapter 1: Savage Introductions**

Snow Black, Vice-President of the Umesato Junior high School student council, beacon of popularity, and envy of all that knew her was happy. A number of months ago, she would not have thought it was possible. If fact, she would not have known she was not happy back then. But so much had changes since she had seen the potential laden within an underclassman in her school. One Arita Haruyuki.

When she had first ... manipulated the poor, shy, bullied, fat little boy into her thrall, she saw him as the perfect tool for her to maneuver to serve her ends. She had of course, been correct. His scores on the School network speed games were phenomenal. She had had to accelerate just to compete with his scores, and edging it out was a close thing at that. She had thought that he might simply be the key to reclaiming her position within the Accelerated World. But his earnest nature and dedication to her had moved her more than she would have thought possible. Working with him, watching over him... worrying about him; in no time at all, she realized that she loved him.

She had not know how much she had needed that until it happened. She had never before that realized that she had not been happy until suddenly now she was, and it was crazy how different things looked from this side. Now, when she smiled at the random people she had to deal with during her day, it was genuine, not simply a practiced mask. When she looked forward to the end day, it was because they would be together. She did not even fear the consequences of the actions that got her hated across Accelerated World. Heck, she even looked forward to her next spat with the angry little Niko, so nice was it to have people she liked, and that really liked her in return.

She smiled to herself as she stood on the corner of a street. She knew from habit now, that any minute, Haru would come dashing around the far corner, late again. They would walk together, and he would apologize to her for her walking with him to school. She would smile the special smile that was just for him, and Chiyu would give her a slightly irritated look as they arrived at school. This last part was of no consequence. It was merely the ghost of the resentment of the suspicion that Chiyu had felt when Snow Black had first started being friendly toward Haru. The mixed feelings of mild jealousy and worry over her friend were buried now, but the ghost still liked to poke it's head about now, even though Snow and Chiyu now considered themselves friendly.

Suddenly, as if a switch had been thrown, time around her seemed to stop. With a sickening swoop in the pit of her stomach, she realized that she had forgot to disable her connection before she left for school. Losing her smile, she took a deep breath and steadied herself as the Brain Burst program activated, and she was loaded onto the contest field. She ran through the possibilities in her mind. She had a lot of enemies, and any number of people in the Accelerated World wanted her head. But of the people who it might be, the only one she knew that knew who she was in the Real World, was Niko, the Red King, and she felt sure that at the very least, when she attacked, there would be more bravado and less chance that Haru would be involved. Admit it or not, the girl was fond of him. So, logically, she should not be expecting a seriously problematic fight, likely just a random person looking to break their teeth on a high class opponent.

She snapped back to Reality as the world took form around her. It was the Post Catastrophe city stage. Up on a crumbling overpass to the left were the normal crowd of observers, looking pleased. One of the female avatars waved to her. She nodded back, and continued to look around. More spectators were dropping in as she looked. She guessed it must have been because it was rare to see Black Lotus in a solo match. She looked up to the health bars at the top of the field, and her suspicion was confirmed. The opponents name was... Slate Mantis. She was aware of most of, if not all of the prominent Burst Linkers active, even though she herself was rarely on the field of battle, but she had never heard of this one. The Blazing word "FIGHT!" floated in front of her, before falling to ash, and her compass appeared, as the timer started to tick down. She glided silently down the street, wondering what to expect. She paused at the intersection, swiveling to face her antagonists, who was just standing down at the far end of the street.

It was certainly odd looking. It had a basically humanoid base structure, all done in sliver for the skeletal structure. Over the calves, thighs, and forearms were bulbous while casings. A sloping, vaguely rectangular block extended from the front of the foot casing, while a smaller one extended from the back. More white metal armory was formed into a vest and loin guard, and shoulder padding extending a short distance out. A segmented silver neck extended up, narrowing slightly where it connected to the heart shaped head, where 2 large, glassy green orbs sat like the true head of a praying mantis, along with a pair of droopy antennae. From the foremost tip of the fore arm bulge armor, long jointed fingers extended, layered with black plate at the joints.

And the final piece of the weird image was the portion that caught her attention the most. For the elbow of the avatar, long, flat blades, easily a meter and a half long, extended outward, the points coming to rest as it stood with fist pointed at the ground about a half meter over it's head.

She took the whole of it in with a glance, and let a small, almost predatory smile play across her lips. She did not consider herself particularly arrogant, but she also did not think that a blade type fighter could match her, especially one with such an awkward positioning of their blades. Suddenly, a window popped up in the corner of her vision.

"R.S. has requested a private chat with you"

She looked at it for a fraction of a second, then selected decline. There was a pause of about 2 seconds, and the request was repeated. Irritated now, she declined again, and swung her sword arms into play. Her opponent still did not move. She moved a step forward. Still nothing. At three more steps, another private chat request hit her, and the mantis cocked its head to the side inquisitively. She answered by again declining, and in an action almost too fast to see, spun backward and aimed a backhanded blow at the opponent's throat. There was a clang, and her blade halted, rather than the slight hesitation followed by the parting of the enemies head. The mantis had brought up its arm fast enough to intercept her attack. With a blast of speed, she shot back out of easy range, while opening up his character sheet. Browsing it with a practiced eye, she her eyes budged slightly.

He was completely unremarkable, save the fact that he was challenging the Black King at level 6. Metal colored, with based on the stats she could access, no real strengths. The wheel of ability showed that he had equal power in unarmed, blade, speed, defense, technique, and agility. She could not know the finer points of his proficiency until he displayed them, but she also was aware that levels were not a fair gauge on player skill.

The blades on the mantis's elbows slid silently forward, transitioning until the entire length was slung underneath the forearms, so that the back of the blade was now resting under the palms of the hands. He braced, and again waited for her to advance. She warily obliged.

Floating in slowly, she closed to about 5 meters, then sped up and delivered another pair of vicious backhands, throwing of sheaves of sparks as the blows were warded off. She continued like this for another 7 attacks, adding one or two more hits each rotation, then breaking contact suddenly in the middle of a flurry.

"I get it now." She shot at him, trying to provoke him into an action other than defensive. "Like your namesake, you must gain a reactive bonus from remaining immobile, giving you an advantage in countering attacks if you remain stationary." She checked the life bars again. She had penetrated his defenses twice, just glancing blows, but she had taken about an eighth of his health down, and left a gash across one leg and the chest. He continued to stare, and simply shook his head once. She scowled. "Then you have a heightened attack score for remaining stationary?" Again he shook his head. "Do you receive any benefit from remaining passive?"

He cocked his head again, then shook it once more. Without a twitch she shot forward, flipping and driving how a blow that forced him back a step, and nicked his health even though it was blocked. She pivoted from that, bring a swipe laterally, and then continued, flowing from blow to blow without a pause, an elegant dance of whirling blades and showers of sparks. Small hits were breaking through his defense, doing little damage, but wearing down the health. She was certain of victory, and continued her assault almost absentmindedly, so able was he to catch her own blows. Then suddenly she met the steel of his blade, and rather than the resistance she was depending on to spring her into the next slash, the blade caught hers like an egg on a plate, the retreated still bearing the pressure of the attack, throwing her off balance and forcing her to recover. With a sickening plunge of the stomach she caught herself just as his elbow flew up and smashed her full in the face, arching her back. He pivoted on a single leg, and she caught a glimpse of the tip of his blade go from a smooth cutting surface and warp into a flat spike for about 10 centimeters before the now curved instrument impacted her stomach armor, buckled it, and drove into her core.

His planted foot gripped the ground, as he forced more power into his spin, lifting her, spitted on the end of his meter long spike, and spinning her around and around, building speed. Then with a squeal of straining metal and the grinding of cracking joints, the spin halted and she was carried by her momentum off the spine and several hundred meters up and into the face of a broken building, crashing through the walls in a explosion of dirt and stone. She bounced and rolled, final coming to a stop as her back impacted into a support pillar.

She felt a little damaged, and checked the health bars again. The Mantis was down to a quarter, and she herself had taken less than a 10th of her total health. In fact, it looked like he had taken more damage from stopping his spin, then she had from the whole attack. There was a noice simlar to a jet fly by, and the mantis suddenly lighted in the gap that she had plowed through, rolling to his feet 15 meters from where she lay. Again, the private chat request popped onto her view. She decided to see what this person was so eager to say to her personally, when he would not speak to her locally. She accepted as she rose, ready to ward off his attack.

"Oh, you accepted! I am so very sorry to have had to engage you like this, Miss Lotus, but I needed to speak to you, and I could not figure out any other way."

"Why did you not say something to me when the match started?" She asked, irritated. His avatar managed to look as embarrassed as his panting voice sounded.

"I mean no disrespect, Miss Lotus, but you have a certain reputation in the Accelerated world, and one in my position cannot afford to appear on any other than antagonistic terms with you." She kept her gaze level. She could understand that.

"That makes a sad kind of sense. Very well, you have my ear, what is it you want?" He again looked extraordinarily embarrassed.

"Again, I have to apologize, but if we delay battle any longer, suspicion may be raised. As I am sure you noticed, the crowd of observers is quite a deal larger than necessary, and contains many members of any of the 6 legions, excluding your own. I have forwarded a file to you with this chat message, containing a network address and access password. If you would please directly connect to this location at around 8 o'clock tonight, I would be most grateful."

Snow Black hesitated. This sounded like a trap. But somehow, she felt certian it was not.

"I make no promises, but I will try. If I do show up, I will be dressed in black, with large butterfly wings." The mantis seemed to visibly shrink with relief, and gave a formal bow.

"Thank you, Ma'am. Now, let us resume the battle." He severed the link and charged.

Those watching the match saw Black Lotus thrown into a building, then the challenger, whom many had never seen before, bounced up after. About 15 seconds later, the clanging of steel blades resumed, and the building began to show marks as silver crescents erupted from various points, and the building shuddered as it took damage. Suddenly those assembled heard a muffled shout, then a flash of purple light. The building shook, dust poured out of the windows as the building collapsed.

"Winner: Black Lotus." Appeared in the normal flaming letters, and the stage began to fade.

Back in the real world, Snow Black immediately killed her connection to the net. Haru rounded the corner ahead of her, and turned red as he saw her. She smiled. She would have to tell him about her strange morning, and see if he would accompany her to the meeting later that night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Accel World: Ties that bind**

**Disclaimer: I do Not own Accel World**

_**This work is based solely upon the Anime show, as it is the sole source of Knowledge on the subject. This begins at some point within a few days of the end of the second series Finale, with the defeat of Dusk Taker.**_

_**Also note: I watched the entire series with the subtitles, and the Japanese names and titles and honorifics are beyond the scope of my understanding (I freely admit I am not so bright) so I will Likely use only the shorthand names.**_

**Chapter 2: Internet Cafe**

The local members of Nega Nebulous were assembled, as now seemed standard when they were to dive together, in Haru's living room. Snow Black sat on one end of the couch, with Haru next to her and Taku, with Chiyu sitting on the end. She had told them about her odd meeting in the morning, and all of them had insisted on joining her to her strange rendezvous.

"Alright, I have filled you in on what happened this morning. But after school was over, I called Niko to see if she'd ever heard of this guy." Her face clouded. "She did not, but she also insisted on coming to see who this is." She did not add that Niko had said she most definitely wanted to meet someone who could manage to shake Snow Black's confidence so much that she came to her for information. "She said she'd be waiting for us in your network, Haru." He swallowed hard, the look on her face telling him exactly how happy she was for this. He nodded once. Snow balck closed her eyes, took a breath, and they all logged in.

"It's about time. I have been waiting for like, 5 minutes." The high pitched, angry voice called out impatiently.

"Good Evening, Niko." Snow said carefully, managing to snuff out all but the faintest trace of frost. The regally dressed red haired girl of course did not fail to notice her annoyance, but it derived her no small amount of pleasure to needle her.

"Yeah, whatever. Are you ready to go yet? I have been wanting to get into this place for ages, but it's invitation only." Snow cocked her head, and all of the others shared confused looks.

"Place? What place? We're going to see this Slate Mantis person." Niko sighed and looked off put and disappointed.

"So, you are telling me that you didn't even bother to check the address?" Snow's eyes narrowed. She had, in fact, not.

"It was an extremely busy day. Why? Where are we going." Niko appear to be about to explode, but she calmed suddenly, opened a window, typed a flurry of commands, the flipped the screen.

"No way!" Chiyu shouted, her eyes sparkling, her hands clasped to chin. Haru and Taku made excited noise. Snow Black's eyes widened slightly, and she opened her own window, and searched the address that had been attached to the private message she had recived. The window in front of her displayed the same picture Niko had produced.

The address they were going to was "The Mossy Pond."

"You confirmed this?" Snow asked in a slightly hushed and expectant voice. Niko smiled and looked excited.

"Yeah, I dove there, and sure enough it is." She gave a dirty look to Snow Black. "Why is it, that just out of nowhere, a stranger challenges you fight, and then invited to the most exclusive cyber net cafe in the area?" Her face changed to a smug suspicion. "Snow, have you been doing suspicious things while I have been away?" Snow slowly turned red.

"What! No, of course I haven't!" She backed up a step, clutching at her chest with one hand. Niko waved it off.

"Whatever. Quit stalling and let's go!" She waved an arm, typed a few strokes in mid air, and dropped though the floor. Snow Black sighed, calming herself.

"Kids are so annoying." She muttered, and then mimicked the act. They were dropped in front of what looked like a large, modern styled while building with black fluting and embellishments. Directly in front of where they stood, a pair of black glass double doors with a chest high computer terminal barring entrance. Above the doors, and embossed letters a shade darker than the wall itself, and coated in a iridescent green that changed as it caught the light, were the words "Mossy Pond"

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and enter the password!" Niko almost squealed. Her excitement was not without due cause, either. This Cyber Cafe was famous in the local nets, not only because it was exclusive. The owner of the club was also the chief programming artist, and being as it was a Cyber net Cafe, as opposed to a real, physical building, meant that it could be changed however the owner saw fit. The owner even licensed various products to use in the Cafe, such as food, video, games, and all sorts of other forms of entertainment and consumable.

It was, even in the age of the Neuro-linker, a place ahead of it's time. It was, as mentioned, terribly exclusive. The only way to get in, was to be provided a password by one of the permanent members or staff. Unless you were upper echelon enough to earn a full membership, each password given was only good for a set number of logins. All of the permanent members were said to be allowed to invite whoever they wished, and every week there was a drawing where anyone could enter their email for a chance to win one of a few dozen one day passwords.

Snow Black walked hesitantly up to the terminal.

_How many in your party?_ Was printed on the screen. She did a brief count, and typed 5. The screen darkened, and then white letters appeared saying: _Please enter your password:_

She pulled open the attachment to the message, and entered the 25 digit numerical code into the terminal. There went black again, and the word _Accepted_ appeared. There was a clunking similar to change dropping out of a vending machine, and 5 disks fell into a cup in the face of the terminal.

"Oh, neat!" Niko darted forward and snatched one of the disks out of the receptacle. She examined it quickly, the pressed the small button on the surface of it. There was a chime, the disk glowed, and a choker of diamond shaped lights appeared around Niko's throat, and slowly faded. "Haha, awesome." She futilely brushed back her ponytails, and marched right at the door, which open to her automatically, and she walked in. The other all gaped as she ditched them, then quickly followed her example.

Inside of the door, the floor was dirt, and large fronds of palm and fern rose far over their heads, boxing them into a green, leafy square with a slight gap in the ferns directly ahead. Hesitantly, Snow black took the lead, and pushed back the left section of fern fronds. She caught her breath just a second before she heard everyone behind her do the same. On the other side of the copse of plants, a verdant, rolling field of ankle high grass meandered peacefully off into larger hills in the far distance, where the banks of a small lake could be seen off to the left. Deep jungle, like the kind they were exiting, stretched away to their immediate left and right as far as the eye could see. The field before them, for about 200 meters square, was dotted with neat little cafe tables and comfy lounge chairs, piles of mats and super sized pillows, and other various paraphernalia related to relaxing. The number of people therein was easily more than 100, engaged in their varied acts unwinding. It would have seemed crowded were it contained with walls, but as it was, it seemed airy, and yet cozy at the same time.

But what was really striking, and indeed what had frozen Niko in her tracks only 3 steps inside, was the fact that there were Dinosaurs visible everywhere. Just outside the outer most tables, a herd of innumerable duck billed hadrosaurs milled about, grazing with their young and honking out their mournful calls. Over by the lake, massive, sky scraper size long necked beasts stood up to their knees in the water. And it was all so seemlessly put together, it was easy to forget they were in a virtual world.

At the far corner of the rom, off to their left, a large, corner booth styled table, a man about their own age, dressed plainly in a black suit with a white shirt and red tie, and a sharp, glossy black hat looked over in their direction, still laughing from what one of his comrades had said. Snow Black had no time to continue to take in the scenery, what had to be a waitress seemed to materialize in front of them. She assumed this woman was staff, because pinned to the front of what looked like a full, skin tight, lightly armored combat suit, was a little golden pin shaped like a lily pad crossed with a cattail. She was tall, slender, and had her long black hair tied up in a knot, and pinned with a crossed pair of silver chop sticks engraved with a simple design. Her eyes were such a deep emerald that they seemed to glow, her bare right hand was covered with a tattoo of a gold and black scaled snake, with silted eyes the same color that seemed to follow whoever looked at them. She gave a short bow that conveyed a warm sense of pleasure at their company.

"Good evening." He voice further conveyed a sense of genial pleasure. "If you will all follow me, your table is ready." She executed a sharp turn and marched across the short grass, gracefully flowing between tables and around restless people, her guest doing their best to stick close. As they less gracefully followed, Snow caught a glimpse of something in the woman's neck, which was bare despite the coverage of the rest of what looked like a Sci-fi type ship suit. On the left side and partially up the back was a spider web of deep, knotted white scar tissue. The waitress stopped at the table with the man in the black suit, who smiled jovially at them all, the people he had been with having disappeared..

"Welcome, friends. Have a seat." Niko, taking the lead as she seemed so often to do, grabbed the seat directly across from the man, and wound up with just her eyes sitting above the lip of the table. "Oh, my. On the side of the chair, you shall find a small button. Press it, and the chair will rise to a more appropriate level. Haru also needed to adjust his chair, his pig featured avatar being shorter than Niko. The other three had no such problems. He looked them all over briefly, then is eyes clicked onto Snow Black. "Can I assume that you are the one I spoke to this morning?" His voice held no malice.

"Yes. I am Snow Black, it is..."

"Hey!" Niko inturpted, glaring at Snow before fixing the other boy with her fierce gaze. "Why do you assume the _she_ is the one you called for?" He looked at her, then, a light smile.

"Because, Miss, the one I spoke to, said that, if she came, that her avatar would have a pair of Black Butterfly wings." She grinned savagely.

"And how do you know that this is, in fact, not exactly what I wanted you to believe, and that this skinny baggage is not simply a decoy I sent so that you would not be able to identify me?" She crossed her arms and looked triumphant. He inclind his head in a slight nod after a seconds pause.

"I concede your point, and it is a good ruse. Very well, then, Miss..." Snow Black cut in.

"Niko, stop it. This asked me to come, and I would like to find out why. Now is not the time to behave childishly." Niko scowled heavily, and shook her head.

"I am not behaving childishly. I came here for two reasons. First because I have never been able to get in her, and I do want to check it out. Secondly, if this guy is as good as you said he was, then..." Her face turned from an angry masked to a taunting smirk " maybe I want to try and convince him to join _my_ legion. You said he was unaffiliated, after all.

Three seconds ticked by while the full implication of her words sunk in. Her brows nitted, and she was about to shout, when the boy across from them raised his hands in suplication.

"Ladies, please. I called you here not to start a fight, but merely because I wanted to discuss some things with Miss Snow black." He swept his eyes across the assembled party. "Am I to guess correctly that all of us here are Burst Linkers, or are we talking about two different things?" Snow gathered her party by eye. Chiyu looked like she didn't care, and continued watching the wonders around her, while the it was clear that Taku and Haru were content to follow her lead.

"Yes." She said in a sigh. She was not used to discussing it so openly. The boy nodded, and continued before Niko could start up again.

"Ah, excellent. Always good to meet fellow Burst Linkers. But, no need to give names. I know many of you like to keep your professional and personal accounts separate and private. Let me merely exchange my name with you." He placed a fingertip to the table top, and flicked it up, his I.D. card floating up following the finger. "My name is Richard Stone, and my Burst avatar is known as "Slate Mantis."" He greeted each of the others as they introduced themselves, name only, not providing their duel avatars.

"Again, it is good to know you all. But, before we continue," he turned to Niko, "what is this about you coming, just to get in to this little old club?" She met his gaze steadily, relying on her wit to work him, rather than her cute charm, like she had tried with Haru.

"This is the first time I have been in here. I enter the drawings every week, but have never won. I came with this one because I wanted to get a look at what is offered here. I have heard great things."

"What a shame. It's to late to tell you this now, but I have it on good authority that I have a weakness for cute girls. You should have just come and tried the door, there are never enough pretty ladies around for my taste." Niko began to retort, caught what he had said, and was about to respond in shock, when the waitress spoke up from behind Richard.

"Not getting any foolish ideas in your head now, are you, Richard? I would hate to have to kill you." She slide into the booth next to him, pushing him over with a thump. He straightened himself, and nodded.

"Friends, allow me to introduce my owner and half share owner of the Moss, Miss Catherine Elizabeth Chambers." She smiled happily, and Snow again saw white scars dusted across the left side of her throat.

"Please, just call me Casey." She turned her face to Richard. "So, these guests are the ones you approved 5 unlimited day passes for?" He nodded. "And you showed them how to work your gimmicks?"

"Was about to, before you came over and interrupted." She reached up, patted him on the cheek, and then pushed him over.

"Don't bother, I doubt _you _even know how to work this place anymore." She smiled again, centering on Niko, who seemed to be sitting in the guest of honor position. She placed her palm flat on the table, there was a small glow, and she lifted her hand, five long, flat cards clinging to the skin as she pulled them free of the table. "While _he_ designed the things that allow this place to function, if he had way, it would be impossible for anyone who was unfamiliar with them to use them. I always work with whatever new gimmick he creates for a good while before we introduce it to the public." She flipped hup her hand, breaking contact with the cards, and catching them near the base with her other hand, snapped her wrist again and caused them to fan out. "These," she indicated the cards, "are your menus." She brought in her spare hand, folding the cards back shut, then opened it like a book. On the left side was the same lily pad and cattail emblem she had pinned to her lapel, and on the right sheet, was a search bar sitting above several shapes representing a range of different base food stuffs and drinks.

"Every kind of food and drink we have licensed, along with several we have developed are all listed within the menu. If you know what item you would like, you can type it's name in the bar on the top, and select it that way. In the same bar, you can also search for an item based on name, tags, characteristics, or any other types of thing you would think to search by. One of the features I am most proud of, is that, when you search for a product and find it, and by a search term not already logged, that product will then be listed under what you used to find it." She gave another happy smile. "Or, if you don't know exactly what you want, you can always pick one of the icons, and browse through all our similarly themed items." She closed the book, and snapped her wrist fanned the five cards out again and slapped them down infront of Haru on the end, making him jump. She wiped her hand across the table, and the menus slid and one stopped in front of each of the 5 of them.

Niko, still wanting to appear the most in control, was the first to reach forward to take it. Her finger touched it, the rectangle glowed, and vanished. As the others did the same, their menu's too disappeared. Casey smiled even harder.

"While in the "Mossy Pond" Cyber Net Cafe, we have aimed to make your experience as unobtrusive as possible, while making our personal systems and simple and intuitive as possible for our guests. To achieve this, we developed the "Choker" system." She brought a hand up to ther throat, and the glowing diamonds flared into existence, slowly rotating around her neck. "Think of this as a digital Neuro-linker, of sorts. Anything you want to access can be pulled from the choker. If you want the menu, think "menu" and..." She made a pulling motion, and the menu appeared in her hand. "Or if you want a token for one of the games, think of it, and poof, it will be pulled into your hand. Once you are familiar with the menu, and have selected favorite items, you can even hotkey them to your choker, and pull them directly from it without having to open the menu."

Richard, now back sitting up, smiled gently.

"You really enjoy showing off, don't you, Catherine?" She turned her smile on him.

"I do." Richard turned his gaze to Snow Black.

"If it would be alright with you Ma'am, I would like to have a private word with you, regarding the matters I asked you here to discuss." She wondered at his want to get her alone, but she considered herself a capable judge of character, and sensed no harmful intent in him.

"Yes, that would be fine." His smile showed relief.

"Excellent. Then, Catherine, you want to show our other guests the rest of the house?"

"Sure! Deja has the counter now anyway, so I've nothing better to do, anyway." She stood and stepped to the side, wo that she could gather the others before moving off. "If you will all come with me, I will show you the Cinema, Games lounge, sound booths, and other features we offer." Snow Black noticed how Haru's eye lit up when he heard the word "games" and figured he would at least enjoy himself. He was the last to get up. He turned to her, his little avatar coming only to her knees while she was still sitting. He looked up at her with a solemn expression.

"Will you be okay, Snow Black, or would you like me to stay." A heart warmed smile played across her face, one she smiled only for him, and she placed a hand on his shoulder, which caused his cheeks to go red.

"No, Haru, it will be fine. Go have some fun, and I will catch up to you when we are done, and you can show me the sights." He managed a sheepish grin, nodded, and then trotted off after the departing group. She turned her eyes back to her host.

"Very well, what did you wish to discuss?"

**End 2.**


	3. Chapter 3

_Accel World: Ties that Bind_

_By: The 483_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Accel World**_

_**Spoiler Alert: Some spoilers, Light to moderate, are contained herein.**_

**Chapter 3: Business **

Richard Stone wove skillfully in between the patrons and equipment across the grassy floor of his Cafe, moving just fast enough to let Snow Black follow without strain. He paused nest to the terminating end of the bar counter, where a slightly Mongol featured girl in a neat white shirt was conversing with the head of a line of people trying to place orders. Ahead of him where they stood was open grass rippling softly in the light breeze that continued until it hit the broad ferns of the surrounding dense jungle. Directly ahead, she watched as a clawed hand slowly pushed one of the fronds to the side, and a reptilian head poked from the darkness beyond into the light to stare at her from about 2 meters off the ground. It's bright, intelligent eyes sent a chill down her spine.

Richard was not looking, instead typing a series of commands into thin air, before grabbing like he was reaching for a door knob, and opening the empty air forward in exactly the shape of a door. He stepped forward, and gestured for her to enter, holding the door for her. She complied, approaching the black square in the environment hesitantly. As she put her foot over the threshold and entered the area,, the room instantly built itself around her, and she gasped.

She was standing in an old fashioned log cabin, the wall across from her holding a frosted glass window caked with fresh snowfall. A native American style faux rug covered most of the flat, worn wood floor, torn and stained in places, but looking otherwise clean and neat and well lived upon. On the left wall, a roaring fire crackled merrily in a brick lined fireplace with no mantle, throwing dancing shadows and providing the sole light in the room. Two large, squish and comfortable looking armchairs faced the fireplace at angles, and a simple crooked legged wooden table between the two held a fancy crystal bottle of amber liquid and pair of crystal glasses. It was a cozy seen right out of a Television Christmas commercial. As she watched, a large wandered by the window, partially obscured by falling snow, it's beautiful antlers shedding velvet. She came back to herself at the sound of the door closing and turned, seeing flakes of snow seemingly blown in the door flutter across the floor. Now, Isolated, she became nervous.

Richard sighed wearily, and moved over flopping down in the far chair.

"I love the feel of importance that comes with running this place, but it almost like having a job." He chuckled slightly to himself. "Ah, but Catherine loves to play hostess, so who am I to argue." He sighed again, an grabbed the crystal bottle, examining it, before he tossed it over his shoulder and it dissolved in the air. He touched the top of the table, and pulled a different bottle out of the surface of the table. He popped the stopper out, and filled done of the glasses, taking a drink before he realized that Snow had not moved. He cocked a brow at her. "You can come and make yourself at home. Is there something wrong?" Snow collected herself, deciding it was just that she was used to being the one in command of the situation that had thrown her off kilter. She smiled softly and strode over to the remaining chair.

"Oh, no, sorry. It's just that this little setting is so... _cozy._" She said, lacing the last word with meaning, and was pleased to see that it had the proper effect. Richard flushed slightly, and brought up his hands as if to ward off the very thought.

"Ohh... er... um..." He coughed into a fist as he recovered his composure. "My, I am very sorry, Miss. It is just that the private rooms can be set with whatever theme that the resident would like, and I find this one appealing. I can alter it to something more appropriate for business." He moved his hand and brought a menu out o thin air and Snow raised a hand, deciding she was satisfactorily back in her accustomed role.

"Unnecessary. This is quite lovely. I was just momentarily off balance because of the contrast from the main room." He chuckled uncomfortably, still recovering from her insinuation.

"I will give you this. Sometimes I feel like Primeval jungle, sometimes it's winter night. I am so at home here, it's easy to forget not everyone lives online as much as I do." He fell back, looking deflated, then looked over at her. "Would you like a refreshment? It would probably be faster for me to just pull it then to look it up if you have something specific in mind." She decided on a cherry flavored drink, and he pulled a tumbler full of an expensive brand out of the table top, and poured it for her. She thanked him and tasted it, and had she not been aware she was on the cybernet, she would have been unable to tell it was just electrical sensory stimulation and not the real thing.

"A question?" She asked, and Richard nodded.

"If everything is provided from the chokers of the patrons, why is there a functioning bar?" Richard smiled.

"I like you, you are perceptive." He looked excited suddenly. "Oh, I remembered that's what gavve me a good feeling about you during the duel this morning. You actually knew things about the creature my duel avatar was modeled after." She looked surprised.

"Why did that give you a good feeling about me?"

"Easy. It meant you are smart, and smart people do not do things without reason or because of a need to satisfy some emotional fallacy. Anyway, the chokers are only for the membership who attend frequently. One day pass members or event members must use the facilities as if they were physical. It helps promote a hierarchy which shows one timers the perks of earning or deserving full membership, and helps the atmosphere remain at a stable level of polite conduct." She nodded. It made a certain kind of sense, and she surprised a grin at what Niko might do to that polite atmosphere.

"Now, shall we begin?" He asked, scooting himself up from his slump. She nodded. "Alright. Correct me if I am wrong, but you are making a power play, or are laying the foundation for one in the Accelerated World." His demeanor shifted from casual to serious, and she could feel the change in the atmosphere of the meeting. She took a sip of her drink, thinking, and rebutted him.

"Why would you think that?" Her voice was calm, not quite offended, but on the verge of it. He ticked the reasons off on his fingers.

"First, a new combatant, Silver Crow, emerges into prominence, and soon into infamy as the first avatar with the true power of flight. Next, there is a scuffle with a member of the blue leagion, Silver Crow emerges the victor, and the defeated, Cyan Pile, switches factions to Nega Nebulous, or the Black Legion. So for the first time in over a year, the legion Nega Nebulous recruits members, and Black Lotus herself is seen on the field of battle. As time passes, they begin to reclaim lost territory, are seen multiple times working on the Unlimited Field, and even have a brief skirmish with the Yellow and Red Legions, including Yellow Radio and Scarlet Rain themselves. Even the famous Sky Raker emerges from retirement, to be enfolded back into the ranks of Nega Nebulous." He crossed his hands and set them under his chin, fixing her with a flat look.

"I may be mistaken, and based on your reputation and what I saw from you before the events 2 years ago, that looks to my thinking like you are gearing to make a big push to reclaim your position, or even knock out the other Legions leadership this time." She continued to sip her drink, as she thought. From what she knew, this was a relatively unknown Burst Linker who had been on back during her rise, yet was still at level 6, but was clearly skilled. But she still did not think he could be a serious threat inside the accelerate world even if her wanted to be. She looked into his eyes, and felt she could trust him.

"I am the Guardian to Silver Crow." She stated firmly, as if that was the answer to his question. He smiled a knowing smile, nodded, and waited for her to continue. "I first approached him, because he showed an amazing level of potential, even without being able to accelerate. I installed the program on his Neuro-linker. I knew, that if he could accelerate, he would be my key for reaching level 10 an finding the answer behind Brain Burst." She took another drink, and closed her eyes. "But... working with him... something changed... and..." She didn't know how to continue, an she opened her eyes when Richard spoke.

"And now you have a new reason to fight." She looked at him critically, annd saw no malice. She nodded. "I understand. It's a good feeling, isn't it?" She nodded slowly. He moved, shifting toward her, and opening a window.

"I know it must seem strange for a stranger like myself to seek you out like this, but let me show you a picture." He steadied the window, looked t it with a sad look in his eyes, and spun the fram.

The picture showed a small girl, a tiny, old version of the Neuro-linker visible over a wool. She had a large, happy smile, and waved at the camera, he other hand clasp with an adult who was mostly out of frame.

"This is Catherine, when she was 9 or 10." There was an odd quality to his voice. He typed on the back of the window, and opened another file.

"And this..." He flipped it. Snow gasped, her eyes going wide and her hands shooting to her mouth, her glass falling and vanishing as it hit the floor. "Is her a year later." It was a series of shots, showing her wrapped in bandages, laying in a hospital bed with tubes and machines connected to her. Others showed large patches of angry red skin and scars and cuts. She recognized the tone of voice now, the one of someone trying not to break into tears. "There was an accident, and she was badly injured. She has massive scarring running the length of her left side torso, arm, and leg, as long as several deep ones over her shoulders and across her back." He flipped the image again, and it was a picture a few years later. She stood with a metal crutch, staring blankly at the camera, her skin mostly covered, but the white scaring still visible around the throat. Most strikingly, the bright green eyes looked dead and dull.

"The scarring is so extensive, that on a good day, she can hobble around with the crutch, and on a bad one, the tissues get so tight all she can do is lay immobile and cry." He had to pause and get his voice back under control. He cleared his throat and continued.

"I didn't meet her until well after the accident, but before it, she was big into gymnastics, swimming, fencing, kendo, track and field, dance, you know, just about anything that she could excel at because she had such a lithe movements. She lost all of that."

"That's... That's horrible." Snow murmured. Richard nodded demurely, summoning another glass, filling in, and handing it to her.

"Anyway, shortly after that last picture, I met her in school, and got in trouble for asking about her scars. After a whammy of a paddling, and a three day suspension, I again approached, a bit more elegantly, I think. After a few weeks of pestering, she finally started talking to me, and we became sort of friends, though she was only really active on the net. We spent more time together programming and testing our virtual cafe than anywhere else for a long time." He retracted the picture window, and began opening another file. "During this time, i thought endlessly over introduce her to Brain Burst, but I was hesitant. Finally, during one of her real bad days, I offered it to Catherine." He flipped the screen to her. "And this is a picture of her about 4 months after she started as a Burst Linker.

The picture showed a thin, partly tanned girl in shorts and a green tank top, crutch braced under the left arm She had a smile on her face, and laughter in her eyes, talking to someone outside the frame. Her long, black hair was pinned up similar to how her net avatar had it, pinned with chop sticks. Her legs, arms, and belly were visible, the horrible white scars standing out brightly in contrast to the lightly tanned skin.

"With Brain Burst, she regained, at least there, her agile dominance over others, and she was able to reconcile with herself from what she used to be, to what she is now, and be happy." She closed the window with a flick, and turned to her, his demeanor dead serious.

"For her, I called you here." He suddenly looked panicked. "Oh, but please, don't tell her that! She has no idea, and she would very likely kill me if she found out I am going behind her back for this. She's fairly critical of my methods, if you've noticed."

"I had noticed. I thought it was cute." He smiled at her, a smile of pure contentment.

"Personally, if I had to lose the program, I would not be too upset, though it is fun. Her, I think she would be fine, and not sink back into the funk she had before. I think she's okay, now." He looked at Snow solemnly. "But burst linking is the only place there is where she can not only feel like her old self, or better. It makes her happy, so I will do whatever it takes to keep it that way. In short, I think you are moving in for keeps this time, and I want to be on the winning side."

Snow Black felt a brief jolt of fear at the start of the sentence, but relaxed as he finished.

"So... you wish to join Nega Nebulous?" He looked uncomfortable.

"Preferably... no. I do not like to speak ill of you, but you do have a reputation in the accelerated world, and admit it or not, the other kings are frightened of you. The force Yellow Radio brought to assault you a few months back is proof alone of that."

"He was not after me. He was assaulting Scarlet Rain, who we just happened to be assisting with a crisis that was partly my responsibility. Yellow Radio was making his own move to try and eliminate a competitor within the boundaries of the truce." Richard nodded thoughtfully at her interruption.

"That makes sense. Things have been different since you reemerged. But y point is, anyone associated favorably with you will, shortly, become a target. It is why I did not wish to publically petition you, even to a talk, becasue it would have drawn the wrong kind of attention. I have worked rather hard to keep a low profile."

"I see." Snow said morosely. He was, of course, correct. She was, now if for nothing other than Haru's desire to assist her, aiming again for the top rung. And if the other Kings did think she was building a power base with which to strike at them with, they would no doubt work to cripple it as best they could. She would warn Haru, Taku, Fuko and Chiyu, and even Niko and Pard, though she was not truly worries about any of them.

"I believe that we can work out a deal of mutual non hostility." She answered with a sigh. Richard looked embaressed.

"Oh, it is not that I am adverse to joining your legion. I am almost certain that, once I finally work up the nerve to tell Catherine about all this, she will suggest it herself. We've watched a few of your territory matches, and Catherine likes how graceful and beautiful your avatar is. But I have remained under the radar a long time. I would just like to continue my lazy lifestyle for a while longer." Snow looked up, but didn't smile.

"I understand, and I am sure you will be welcomed when the time comes. The others were quite happy to be invited here." Richard smiled widely.

"Thanks, ma'am. It's kind of you to say so."

"Another question?" She asked, still blank faced. He nodded, his smile slipping somewhat.

"You say you have been in the accelerated world long enough to have seen the rise of the Kings of Pure Color, yet you are a level six, though you unquestionably are skilled. Why are you a level six still?"

"Oh...OH. That is no real hard one. I could spend the points and hit level 9 right now, and still have points enough to not have to worry for a long, long time. But, the simplest answer is the right one here. After level 7, people start to take notice of you, except in very specific conditions, say if you are a level 8 who almost exclusively battles paired with a lowly level 6. But you have my word, when the time comes to join you, I will utilize my full potential for your cause."

"I see." And Snow Smiled again, her mind at ease about the whole situation. "Then, if that is concluded, we should probably go and see what havoc Niko is causing before it becomes irreparable."

"You may be right. As I always say, it's the small ones you have to keep your eye one. Beofr eI forget, though, I have had Catherine upgrade your membership to unlimited. The same will go for all of your legion members, I'll get you the passes to upgrade your chokers before you leave."

"Umm... about that..."

"Yes?" He cocked a brow.

"Niko is not, in fact, one of mine. She is a officer in the Red Legion."

"Ah, well, then I will get her a couple of passes too. Can't have you leaving your friends out."

**End 3.**


End file.
